Legalization of Marijuana

Legalization of Marijuana


Legalization of Marijuana
Legalization of cannabis, or marijuana, is one of the most controversial topics being discussed today. Marijuana could be controlled like alcohol if it were to be legalized. Marijuana has never caused any deaths by usage. It is impossible to overdose by using just marijuana. Marijuana has been used for medical purposes for thousands of years. If marijuana were legalized, the government could impose a heavy taxation on the drug. If the drug were legalized it could have enormous benefits to the economy.
California was one of the first states to ban the use of marijuana in 1913. Twenty-nine other states had joined in by 1931. Even though twenty-nine states banned the drug in 1931, the usual dating of the federal ban was in 1937. For a long time, people have been moving to legalize marijuana. Proposition 19, also known as the Regulate, Control, and Tax Cannabis Act of 2010, was proposed in California. On November second, the act was defeated with a result of 53.5 percent voting against the act. Now in Colorado, voters will decide on Amendment 64, which will legalize marijuana for adult use. This amendment will regulate and tax marijuana like alcohol and cigarettes currently are. This measure has received support from both Democrats and Republicans in Colorado. Amendment 64 would make it legal for adults over the age of twenty-one to possess up to one ounce of marijuana and grow up to six plants for personal use.
Smoking is not safe, whether it is cigarettes, marijuana, or a maple leaf. Research has shown that over five million people die every year from smoking cigarettes. An average of eighty thousand people die every year from drinking too much alcohol. But not one person has died from smoking too much marijuana. It is not the smoking itself that kills; it is the activities people do while they are under the influence. Marijuana has been reported as being a gateway drug that leads to harder drugs like cocaine and heroin. Studies show...

Similar Essays